With electronic band MGMT’s third disc in the works for months and an expected late 2012 release date already off the table, its label is clearly anxious.

MGMT

So it’s understandable when a Fenway Records representative asks that a reporter not ask any questions about it during an interview with lead vocalist and guitarist Andrew VanWyngarden.

But that’s hard when that’s what VanWyngarden wants to talk about. So despite the publicist’s warning, VanWyngarden, in a recent telephone call from his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment to promote the band’s show Sunday, Aug. 4, at Musikfest, offered up details.

Here’s a transcript of the call:

The subject of the new album is particularly touchy because, after the runaway success of MGMT’s catchy 2007 debut disc, the electro-pop “Oracular Spectacular,” there was a backlash when its sophomore 2010 disc offered up very different psychedelic rock.

“Oracular Spectacular” went gold and produced the Top 10 alternative hit “Kids” and the Top 25 “Time to Pretend” — both of which made Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 50 songs of the decade and the latter its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The disc also got the group three Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist.

“Congratulations” actually charted higher, hitting No. 2 on Billboard’s albums chart, but was such a departure that there was a fan backlash, and band comments were interpreted as meaning even MGMT was disappointed with the disc.

LEHIGH VALLEY MUSIC: Hi Andrew.

ANDREW VANWYNGARDEN: “Hello.”

How are you today?

“I’m doing just fine. How are you?”

I’m doing just fine, thank you. So you guys really aren’t touring this summer? You’re just doing a couple of festivals?

“That’s right, yeah. The Musikfest show and the Osheaga [Music and Arts] Festival show in Montreal are the only two gig we have booked.”

OK. I did read this: That you guys finished up a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s song “Future Games” for the Fleetwood Mac tribute album “Just Tell Me That You Want Me,” due out Aug. 14.

“Yeah, we did that last spring. I think our track kind of got leaked or something a month ago, but I don’t know, that was a fun thing to do. It was just very casual. Ben [keyboardist and vocalist Ben Goldwasser] and I really liked that song, ‘Future Games.’ It’s kind of been a song that, on tour, the band listens to a lot. It’s kind of semi-ironically … the song’s kind of great, but also a little bit funny. And so Ben and I did a version of it with a really sad robot singing the whole song.”

[Laughs] And I read – actually on your website – that you guys actually made the song longer than it originally way.

“Yeah, a little bit. I mean, not much. It was originally, I think, eight minutes and 20 seconds, and we made it about a minute longer or something. I mean, I think that was just the result of us slowing down the tempo slightly.”

Oh, OK. How did you guys get connected with the project?

“Um, it’s just one of those things that came up. I think our managers brought us the idea of being on a Fleetwood Mac compilation, and we are into that. There’s also some other great artist on there. I heard the Tame Impala version of ‘That’s All for Everyone” – I thought that’s really good.”

I also read that when you guys played South America earlier in spring, you guys did some new music on that tour.

“Just, uh, just one new song, ‘Alien Days.’”

Oh, OK. I don’t want to encroach too far on the subject of new music, but can you say how much you’ve done for your next record, or what your new music is sounding like?

“Sure, you can encroach a little bit. I mean, we haven’t done any sort of press for the album at all yet, but it’s nothing too dramatic. Ben and I are just having a great time making the new album. And we’ve done three recording sessions. We’re working with Dave Fridmann again, who mixed our second album, and co-produced our first album. And it’s been going great. We’re really enjoying it. We’re kind of getting back into eating a lot of ice cream while we record, which helps the creative flow.”

[Laughs]

“I don’t know, but seriously, it seems like we’re in a much freer, kind of more liberated state of mind, and not really anxious or paranoid about much these days. And I think that’s the result of having both been through the experience of the first album, with the kind of unexpected, crazy buzz and everything that followed in 2008, and then the second album, which wasn’t difficult for us, but because people called it a difficult album, even though I don’t know why till this day. But, um, so this album is just kind of like we’ve been able to do whatever we want, and I think we’re making good songs. We’ve got a good bit of material so far, and we’re just going to keep writing until we get to a point where we feel like we’ve figured out what our album is going to be.”

Is there anything significantly different on it, or can you tell me about the vibe of any of the music?

“You like how I can change my voice to sound like a young woman? [Laughs] What do you want to talk about? Maybe soccer?”

Yeah. Let me talk a little about [the second album] “Congratulations.” You know, there’s always that story about the sophomore slump album. But your second album actually charted higher than your first album – although it didn’t sell as well. So you’re saying that you guys were entirely happy with it?

“I mean, yeah. I think what we weren’t happy with was … I think that we were a little bit naïve going into the promotion and marketing and the initial interviews that we did for the album, because, I don’t know, I think Ben and I have a healthy amount of kind of just taking things a little bit lightly and not being really serious about the music we’re making because we feel like music should be fun and I think things got a little bit twisted when we were doing our initial interviews. And somehow it got out and reproduced in multiple magazines that we had intentionally committed career suicide or made something to distance ourselves from our fans with a super-experimental. And that was just pretty unfortunate and not fun to have to kind of always be back-tracking and dealing with that in interviews. Because to my ears, when I listen to our second album – which I don’t do that often – or our first album – which I also don’t do that often – they don’t sound all too different to me. And I think it was the kind of people that really only in their minds associated us with kids that have no idea where the second album was coming from.

“And then, I guess, that makes sense. If you only … no, I won’t make any comparisons to other bands, because then that only gets twisted as well. Man, I’m becoming a paranoid. I’ve had a lot of coffee this morning, as well.

“And you know, I used to live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”

Oh really?

“I grew up there from 1984 to 1993. I was a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and The Penguins and The Steelers. And that was like the golden era of the Pirates, ‘cause like [pitcher] Doug Drebeck [who won the National League Cy Young Award in 1990 by leading the pirates into the playoffs]. Barry Bonds.”

Yeah, but when you come to Bethlehem, you’re not going to want to say that, ‘cause this is Phillies country. We actually have a Phillies minor league team in Allentown.

“I don’t want to start anything … I know it’s Phillies country, but … I did appreciate Mike Schmidt’s mustache. So I had his Donruss trading card. He had a great, great mustache. And maroon, I think, is a color that should be exploited by more sports teams.”

[Laughs] I’ll be sure to include that in my story. Back to the album – let me take it back a step further. With “Oracular Spectacular,” you guys have to admit – you blew up fast and made a huge impact. So I’m guessing that the explanation is a lot of people attach themselves to that album.

“Umm humm.”

How was it to deal with such popularity in such a short time?

“Oh, I don’t know. It was made even more intense considering what we had done as a band before that – not even considered ourselves a band. I mean, we were just kind of like jokesters on a liberal northeastern college campus – you know, wearing like [costumes] and hitting rubber dinosaurs against giant erase boards and running away during shows. We never had played – I mean, we did the tour with Of Montreal and that was our most real kind of experience as a band before we were signed to a major label. So it was all very fast and overwhelming. And it was fun, but it also kind of didn’t make sense in our heads. And so we did a lot of … it had a psychological effect, probably that influenced the second album. And I think that that is cool and special that a band kind of documents its real feelings of what’s going on. I mean, I guess it’s pretty common with a second album after a popular first album, but I’m so happy that we didn’t go into making a second album and try to recreate the kind of style of the popular songs from our first album. That wouldn’t have been, not career suicide, but soul suicide in my brain. So I’m much happier that we did what we did.”

Yeah. I love the album. I love the second album.

“You’re going to love the third one then.”

Here’s something that I’ve just got to throw out at you because I’m a “Beavis + Butthead” fan.

“Cool.”

You guys had “Kids’ on one of the episodes of the new “Beavis + Butthead” shows.

“Yeah.”

Is there anything to say about that at all?

“Uh, just that it’s an honor. We had two videos: They showed ‘It’s Working,’ as well. That one’s pretty funny, too. But the ‘Kids’ one’s really classic. I mean, as soon as we heard that they were gonna maybe watch a video, and maybe watch ‘Kids’ on the new Beavis + Butthead, we instantly knew that Beavis was gonna go into a little bit of a ‘fire’ thing, ‘cause of the intro to the video.”

[Laughs]

“But what I thought was so funny and amazing was that the little kid in the video is dressed exactly like Butt-head dresses [laughs]. Which I didn’t realize. I grew up watching that show obsessively, and probably talked like Beavis for a good two years of my life.”

I’m really glad to hear that, because I’m a huge fan, too. And that makes me even more of a fan of MGMT then.

“[Laughs] Awesome.”

Anything else?

“You didn’t ask what our show’s going to be like at the festival, but that’s good. You don’t need to know that.”

No! Tell me!

“If you just put in a word about how our new album is going to be really great and we’re really excited about it.”

Yeah. I will do that. But now tell me about the show, now that you brought it up.

“Well, I mean I think it’s going to be … We’re still kind of going to be operating on the show that we were doing last summer and we just did in South America. Which is really cool – we’re playing with a five-piece live band and we’re playing some from both our first and second album, and the new song. And we have great psychedelic visual things happening that are going live with the show. So I think that’s kind of what it’s going to be like. And then, I think, when we start touring for the new album, we’re going to try to switch things up. But this is a little bit of a transitional period right now.”

Well, that sounds like the coolest thing I have ever seen, as Butt-Head would say.

I only started listening to MGMT as of last year and I think both of their albums are great, each in a different way. I didn't know what to expect of "Congratulations" when I first listened to it, based on all of the negativity I heard of it, but I really enjoyed it. "Siberian Breaks" is an absolutely incredible song. I look forward to hearing them live for the first time tomorrow. If the weather cooperates, that is!

Posted By: S-3 | Aug 4, 2012 1:04:05 PM

OMG I AM SO EXCITED! I've been doing research about a new album forever now! I've been a huge fan of MGMT since 2008. I remember the first song i heard by them (Time To Pretend) and dancing to it every day after school. I just love every single song MGMT has made and every album. I'm a little confused why they keep calling it the third album though, nobody ever wants to talk about Climbing to New Lows. That is actually my favorite MGMT album. And i didn't even know they toward with of Montreal! That would've been so crazy to see. I'm almost crying just thinking about it, and I'm a guy so I really shouldn't be crying lol. I'm so glad I found this article.

Posted By: Jonathan Meyer | Nov 12, 2012 11:08:35 PM

I came on a little late in mgmts career after the birth of the first two albums. I remember hearing like electric feel when i came out but other than that i usually only listened to underground hip hop stones throw records an such. But i absolutely love both albums and im glad im listening to them now because to hear a third album is almost near im super excited. I would smoke... in my room and play the videos on youtube on the tv and vibe out like i was at a music festival. Im making it priority to see them live, ive yet to actually go to a music festival so im glad MGMT have established their music career in my time so i can do just that. i would be completely bummed if i miss that opportunuty

Posted By: Ricky Dominguez | Nov 20, 2012 11:50:11 PM

Metanoia = Atom Heart Mother Suite

No love for "Doctorhands?"

Posted By: Joey Pousson | Dec 7, 2012 6:56:49 PM

I heard Time to Pretend from a friend of my brother's and i just began to do research of all of their songs and fell in love with all of the songs they've ever made, from their climbing To New Lows days, to the Time To Pretend EP days and now, i've been researching their new album but haven't found anything.

Posted By: Lazaro Fernandez | Jan 1, 2013 9:46:38 PM

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JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.